Ontario Helping Internationally Trained Immigrants Find Jobs

Province Supporting 11 New Bridge Training Projects

News from the Government of Ontario

Posted August 11th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

Queen’s Park, Toronto – The province is investing $3.35 million over two years through the Ontario Bridge Training Program to help internationally trained professionals find jobs that match their skills and experience.

The investment will support 11 new bridge training projects that will:

Improve access to career assistance services for internationally trained immigrants, for example career mentoring, employment events, language skills-training and a micro-loan program.

Help employers recruit, hire and retain internationally trained immigrants, with networking events, an online recruiting service and employer workshops.

Identify newcomers’ transferrable skills and alternate career pathways through, for example, mentoring events and the promotion of entrepreneurship.

Every year, Ontario’s Bridge Training Program helps over 6,000 internationally trained professionals get the help they need to find jobs that match their skills and experience. Increasing immigrant employment rates is key to growing the province’s globally connected economy.

Investing in supports for internationally trained professionals is part of the government’s economic plan to build Ontario up and deliver on its number-one priority to grow the economy and create jobs. The four-part plan includes helping more people get and create the jobs of the future by expanding access to high-quality college and university education. The plan is making the largest infrastructure investment in hospitals, schools, roads, bridges and transit in Ontario’s history and is investing in a low-carbon economy driven by innovative, high-growth, export-oriented businesses. The plan is also helping working Ontarians achieve a more secure retirement.

QUOTES

“Ontario’s Bridge Training projects are making a real difference. By helping internationally trained newcomers get work in their fields, bridge training projects support our globally connected economy and change people’s lives. This investment will strengthen our communities and help immigrants and their families build better lives in Ontario.” – Laura Albanese, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration

“We’re delighted with the government’s further investment in the Ontario Bridge Training Program. We see first-hand how these opportunities for our internationally-trained newcomers make a difference in their lives and the positive effects they have on the community. Working in partnership with business and industry, we’re preparing our students to be career-ready and to contribute to a strong Ontario.” — David Agnew, President Seneca College

“Ontario’s Bridge Training Program allows us to connect with internationally trained newcomers. It enables us to recruit employees who have the necessary skills and expertise to support the delivery of an exceptional patient experience while, at the same time, connecting and contributing to the larger community by providing much needed job opportunities.” –Connie Dejak, President and Chief Executive Officer at Runnymede Healthcare Centre

QUICK FACTS

Ontario’s Bridge Training Program provides training and support for immigrants to become registered to work in regulated professions and other high-skilled jobs. The program also works with employers to develop resources to help them hire, retain and integrate internationally trained immigrants into the workplace.

The program aligns with recommendations from the Premier’s Highly Skilled Workforce Expert Panel to position all Ontarians to meet the needs of the province’s dynamic economy

Nearly three out of four working-age immigrants to Ontario have a postsecondary education.

Each year, over 6,000 skilled immigrants access Bridge Training projects in more than 100 professions including such as nursing, medical technology and the skilled trades.

As many readers know who follow this column know, I have a heart for refugees and work for their integration and full membership in our community. While I know we can help even more, we also need to spend a lot more to help homeless vets get the help they need and to find jobs and housing.

The governments at all levels fail miserably in reintegrating vets who have served and often face the problems of PTSD and other issues often surrounding ill health and injury due to the kind of exposures their service involved.

Many wait months, even years for their help to be realized and then it is often too little, too late. They are lost on the streets of our cities or have lost their battle to suicide. Wake up friends.

Demand that the government give our vets their due! We can do both help refugees and vets. We are not a poor country!